Deepfakes to be the next big security threat

There is a new challenge on the security horizon i.e., deepfakes. A deepfake video uses AI and deep-learning techniques to produce fake images of people or events. Deepfakes are getting more and more advanced with the span of time.

The FBI has already warned that cyber criminals are using deepfakes to apply for remote IT support jobs and roles, which would allow access to sensitive personal information of staff and customers that could be stolen and exploited.

A case of deepfake highlighted recently was when the mayor of Berlin was having an online meeting with former boxing champion and current mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, but grew suspicious when Klitschko started saying some very irrelevant things relating to the invasion of Ukraine, and when the mayor’s office contacted the Ukrainian ambassador to Berlin to discover that, whoever they were talking to, was not the real Klitschko.

Deepfakes could easily become a new vector for cybercrime, and it's going to be a real struggle to contain the trend. Apart from this, business email compromise (BEC) is the costliest form of cybercrime nowadays, costing businesses billions of dollars every year.

BEC attacks are successful, but many people might remain suspicious of an email from their boss that comes out of the blue and they could avoid falling victim by speaking to someone to confirm that it’s not real. But if cyber criminals could use a deepfake to make the request, it could be much more difficult for victims to deny the request, because they believe they're actually speaking to their boss on camera.